Apple Forced to Kill the Mac Pro In Europe From March 1st

Here's some bizarre fallout from an EU ruling on the safety of electrical equipment. Apple's being forced to stop selling the Mac Pro in Europe from March, including the UK, because it's got exposed fans and they're dangerous, apparently.

The amendment to the IEC 60950-1 spec puts increased requirements on computer manufactures to put fan guards and extra shielding around electrical ports in place. Sounds sensible, but bizarrely that counts the Mac Pro out. Until Apple modifies it, the Mac Pro will be banned from sale from March because of the big fans its got on its rear.

That means if you want a Mac Pro from Apple, you'll have to get your order in by February 18th so Apple can ship it to you before the February 28th cut off. Resellers with existing stock will be able to continue to flog their wares until inventory runs dry, but that's it.

Apple's been neglecting the Mac Pro, which apart from a small spec bump here and there, has remained unchanged for years. Something tells me a Mac Pro refresh might be just around the corner. But maybe Apple really doesn't sell enough of the beasts to justify it any more? Who knows. All I do know is that when I look around the video teams in the office they're all using Mac Pros. Maybe Apple'll spit out a Mac Mini or iMac Pro instead? [MacWorld]